MTNL announced the commercial launch of the 3G services in Delhi. This would happen in a period of 10 days – around the end of the month. However, Mumbai users would have to wait for a couple of weeks till they get the same. It’s Mumbai launch is currently planned in the first week of February.
Archives for January 2009
Swan ownership under the microscope
Swan, the telecom operator which received the license to start services last year, is under the lens of the telecom authorities. The reason – the ownership structure of the operator goes against the rules set by the governing bodies. Here’s the scenario in simple terms:
- According to the guidelines, a telecom operator cannot hold more than 10% stake in another operator.
- Reliance holds about 10% stake in the company, with the other investor being Tiger Traders.
- It is learnt that the Board of the latter(Tiger) has Reliance employees.
- Also, Reliance had also given a huge lot of redeemable preference shares to Swan, which might have an impact on their stake.
Reliance, however, states that it has a 9.9% stake, which adheres to the regulations. Currently, the DoT has asked the MCA or the Ministry of Corporate Affairs to look into the matter.
Results for TRAI’s Service Survey
If there is one thing that can gauge the performance of the operators’ service in the Telecom industry, it’s TRAI’s service survey. This survey is undertaken to understand operator performance on parameters like pre-sales and sales, network availability, value-added service (VAS), customer care and billing . The final score is a percentage with 90% being the cut-off set by the governing body. Here are how the results looked like: [Read more…] about Results for TRAI’s Service Survey
ALL Non-IMEI number phones to be blocked by 15th April
There are still a lot of people in the country who are using cellphones without an IMEI number. Connectivity to these cellphones was suposed to be blocked by telecom operators, as instructed by the authorities. DoT has now taken things more seriously by its decision of imposing a fine on a fortnightly basis on operators failing to do their duty.
Telcos were trying to find a way out of this, by providing a software which could generate the needed number for them. However, this has been strictly disallowed. Currently the new deadline, before which the operators are supposed to do the needful, has been set to 15th April.
3G on TG: 3G Auction delayed again!
With the 3G spectrum allocation being talked about in every business newspaper and the dates being changed every fortnight, we give you this update on what’s going on.
Dates: We brought you the official dates for the auction some weeks back. Till then the 16th of January was the day when the process was planned to begin. However, with the Cabinet and the Telecom authorities not coming to common terms, this date was shifted to the 30th of Jan. Things got worse, when the dates were further delayed, as the Cabinet was to view the suggestions put forth by the Dot not before mid-Jan. Also, the auction would not take place till all the ministries, the Cabinet and the telecom authorities come to a consensus. At present, the process is set to begin in mid-February. This too, seems to be a very optimistic date.
8.12 million GSM users added in December 08
The economic slowdown hasn’t affected the Indian telecom industry much, quite evident by the above mentioned numbers. Against 7.62 million users being added in November, December witnessed a healthy growth in these numbers – with 8.12 million users being added. This converts into a growth rate of 3.25%, which is marginally lower than the same clocked in the previous month – 3.32%. Here are the specifics of how each operator contributed to this growth:
- Airtel: 2.7 million
- Vodafone: 2 million
- Idea: 1 million
- BPL Mobile: 65 thousand
- BSNL:8 lakh
At the end of December, the strength of the total user base (GSM) stands at 258 million, with Bharti Airtel leading the market with its 33.22% market share. The operator is followed by Vodafone at 23.63% share of the GSM market. The month saw all operators clocking positive growth, with the exception of BPL which saw its additions go into the red.
Tata Indicom brings 1 paise SMS
If you happen to be an avid texter as well as use Tata Indicom then you’re in luck. They have announced Night SMS pack that enables the users to send SMSes at just 1 paise. However, there’s a monthly charge of Rs. 59 wherein a user can send messages at aforementioned cost between 9PM to 8AM.
The scheme is applicable only to the users in Maharashtra, Mumbai and Goa. Users can activate this service by sending an SMS to 12524 with the text NIGHTSMS or by calling on the same number.
Airtel announces Lifetime Prepaid 99
A not so earth shattering news comes from the Airtel front about the introduction of its lifetime prepaid card at a lower price point. Now the card goes for just Rs. 99 which will also carry a talktime of Rs. 10. However, as with other lifetime prepaid cards this one also has a string attached to it. A user needs to refill his account with a minimum of Rs. 200 every 6 months. The new price is effective from today.
Airtel launches its services in Sri Lanka
Airtel has finally launched its impending GSM services in the Sri Lankan island. The service will be offered by Airtel’s subsidiary, Bharti Airtel Lanka Pvt Ltd while the network will be managed by Huawei and IBM as a partner to manage the infrastructure.
Airtel is making its presence felt in the region. To promote the service, they are offering free SIM cards to any users from Jan 12 till Jan 25. However, the user needs to activate the card by recharging it with a Rs. 100 coupon.
Is Tata Teleservices really the best in Maharashtra?
Official reports are out that TRAI has crowned Tata Teleservices as the best operator in Maharashtra. The telecom regulator did not experience even the slightest of congestion in its network review.
The news is quite shocking, as the CDMA operator is not so well known for its network.We at TeleGyaan truly think that the end users should be final deciders in such matters. We think that would reflect the reality.
Here is where YOU come into picture. Head to the comments below and give us a reality check. Is it really the best?